It’s almost the end of 2023, and with the approach of Christmas, there’s plenty of space for celebrating. How you choose to do that is entirely up to you, but you may want to kick things off with a chuckle at some amusing stories from the gambling world. Put a smile on your face with these enjoyable anecdotes from the first half of December 2023 in our latest Freaky Fortnight rundown.
EPT Prague Participant Headbutts Opponent!
It’s always the hope that all Poker tournaments taking place around the world will go off without a hitch. Yet every now and then, there is a momentary lapse in judgement and an unexpected outcome. That’s exactly how things proceeded at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Prague Main Event at Kings Casino, where a violent fracas occurred, leading to one man being disqualified for delivering a headbutt to his opponent!
On Dec. 12, during Day 1B of the €5,300 buy-in event, which brought in over 1,200 entries, tension started rising at table 12. There, Michele Nizzardelli had just won a pot by seemingly checking on the river but then making an overbet.
As the next hand came around, Nizzardelli chose a three-bet with an AsKc, while his opponent Ghattas Kortas called all-in with his pocket tens. The flop displayed king high, providing Nizzardelli a top pair and putting him ahead in the hand. There was little help provided on the turn and river for Sweden's Kortas, meaning that he was headed to the rail.
As he left the table, visibly upset about the outcome, Ghattas Kortas snatched the hat off of his Italian opponent's head. That was all it took for tensions to boil over.
Nizzardelli leapt up from his seat and shoved Kortas, leading to a face-to-face confrontation between the two players. The Italian raised his fists, with both men arguing at a loud volume, their faces just inches from one another. Nizzardelli refused to take much more, and instead opted to headbutt the Swedish gambler, who fell to the floor with a visible injury on the bridge of his nose.
Security personnel rushed in at this point, escorting Nizzardelli from the tournament room. He was then instantly disqualified for his actions, and his chips were removed from play. Kortas, who was more stunned by the event than injured, was a lot more concerned over the state of his face than how he felt in general.
Time will tell whether the Italian headbutter will have to suffer any further action from the police or even sanctions from the casino and/or tournament organizer, PokerStars.
Despite the violent outbreak, the EPT Prague Main Event proceeded onward as usual and was eventually won by Padraig O'Neill of Ireland.
This wasn't the first time that violence has entered the world of poker, and it likely won’t be the last either. Such was the case in early July this year when four women were recorded engaging in a scantily clad fight in Las Vegas.
Nizzardelli wasn't the only one recently evicted from a prestigious live poker event. During the WSOP Paradise Main Event, Jordan Saccucci – who won the EPT Prague Main Event in 2022 – was hoisted out of the Atlantis Paradise Island Casino on Dec. 10. The Canadian player had been arrested earlier in the month under suspicion of being involved in around 30 burglaries across the country but was released on bail. Similar charges were brought against him in 2021 although that case was thrown out of court. No reason was provided for him being escorted out of the Atlantis Paradise Island Casino though.
Two Rivals Uncover Their Similar Origins
Major poker tournaments will always bring a variety of highlights. There’s drama, there’s top-energy competition, there is a wealth of highs and lows. In the end, it all comes down to the final two, and regardless of who the winner is, both are likely to walk away with a nice monetary reward.
It is the aftermath of such a tournament that introduces a moment for celebration. Two rivals who have been duking it out across the competition finally get to converse and, in many cases, become good friends. While that may not always be the case, it certainly was at the end of the WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open in Hollywood, Florida at the end of November.
That event saw Istvan Briski come in first place, bagging $647,300 while Rayan Chamas acquired the runner-up space, taking home $600,000. Briski also gained himself a seat at the WPT World Championship along with his tournament win. Both men brought a group of friends along to the final, and once it was all done with, they set out for a few drinks together. As the night continued on, Briski and Chamas found that they have a lot more in common than they ever knew.
Chamas recalled that the pair were having drinks until about 3 a.m., sharing their backgrounds and how they got into poker in the first place. Briski noted how he had been having a difficult time during his career, and a friend helped him out. That friend is someone that Chamas also knows very well – Samuel Vousden, who plays under the username of “€urop€an” online.
He proceeded to ask Briski how he knew Vousden, only for him to state that Vousden placed him in a strategy group 12 years ago. Chamas, stunned, announced that he too was in the same strategy group, consisting of seven people who all spoke regularly for two years. They switched from playing Sit & Gos to tournaments, and Istvan was one of the guys involved. Both men found it to be one of the most amusing and unlikeliest things to happen – that they should not only meet at a poker tournament but headline it against one another, too.
Chamas said that he never connected Briski with being the same person involved in their Skype strategy group as he went by the name of Steve there.
It seems like the gameplay and strategizing involved in that group had a marked effect on both men. Briski and Chamas have increased significantly in skill, moving up the ranks at the same time. The same can be said of Vousden, who has acquired a WSOP bracelet, a $1.1 million cash in the WSOP Online Main Event last year, and more.
And in a show of true holiday spirit, Briski opted to donate $50,000 of his tournament winnings as well as 25% of his winnings until the end of next year. Half of the money is going to a Hungarian charity for children in need and the other half to childhood mental health services. Chamas boosted the message himself on social media.
A New Guinness World Record Linked to Poker
The “Guinness World Records” book is filled with a mass of records. Some of the feats achieved can be quite marvelous while others are on the weird side of the tracks. One of the more recent records to be attained has links to the poker world, and it’s also on the stranger side of things too.
Rocco Mercurio, an Italian native, made headlines with his astonishing feat, registering the record for stacking up the biggest number of poker chips and balancing them on one finger!
In total, he balanced a stack of 255 poker chips to achieve the bizarre world record. The idea of utilizing poker chips for the record was unique in itself, and it thus became an easier record for Mercurio to set. A video of his “talent” was shared on the Guinness World Records Instagram page in late November, showing his dedication to focus and balance. As the stack eventually collapses and clatters to the floor, Mercurio fist pumps the air, realizing that he has achieved the record.
The record-setting attempt was made back in May though the video depicting it only started going viral across the globe in December, and it has been seen by over one million people already. Of course, there is also a host of comments on the record, with some users of IG congratulating Mercurio and others finding much more amusement in it. It’s not the first time that poker chips or even cards have featured in world records, either. Categories like “Fastest Dealing Time” using playing cards and the “Largest Stack of Poker Chips” exist as records too.
There is also a record for the biggest prize pool for an online poker game, which is held by GG Poker. The prize pool at the top of the records stands at $27,559,500. Winning Poker Network meanwhile holds the record for “Largest cryptocurrency winning jackpot in an online poker tournament” after paying out the winner of a VENOM tournament in bitcoins.
Phil Hellmuth Makes a Grand Entrance as Poseidon at WSOP Paradise Main Event
Never one to be held back by considerations of probity and good taste, Hellmuth is once again showing up in our Freaky Fortnight. What for this time, you may ask? Well, because he’s bringing the amusement to the table yet again. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Paradise $5,300 Main Event hosted Day 1b on Sunday, Dec. 10. A couple of levels prior to the dinner break, the most decorated player in WSOP history chose to make his appearance.
As is quite common for Hellmuth, he didn’t just walk into the venue dressed in his everyday street clothes. At the Atlantis Paradise Island, he opted to dress himself as Poseidon, God of the Sea. Perhaps also trying to channel Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Hellmuth was also flanked by 17 mermaids (one to represent each of his 17 bracelet wins) as well as a Bahamian marching band.
His entrance received mixed reactions from the players in the lobby although one significant fan was none other than Daniel Negreanu. He highlighted that those people who look upon Hellmuth’s entrances as being inconvenient and irksome need to thank him for the color and outrageousness he brings. Negreanu commented on those pros all being richer today thanks, in part, to Phil’s antics on and off the felt.
One person who disagreed was U.S. player Eric Froehlich, who commented that an entire venue playing a game which requires concentration does not need to be disrupted by loud noises from Hellmuth. His sentiments were echoed by DJ MacKinnon, who stated that his antics should be kept to the times when a break in gaming occurs.
It’s not the first time Hellmuth has made such a spectacle of an entrance. It’s his tradition to do so in Vegas, and he chose to continue that in the Bahamas. Previously, some of his costumes have included Julius Caesar, General Patton, Gandalf, and P.T. Barnum. You have to question what Phil will come up with next!
